Written by: Mick Gugel And Allison Lucak
October, 2025- Substituting traditional steels with high-strength, thinner steel isn’t a new concept. It has been used in the automotive industry for many years, and it is becoming more accepted in other industries, including heavy equipment manufacturing, construction and mining.
Even so, many manufacturers may be missing out on the benefits of lightweighting (particularly cost savings) due to perceived barriers. These could include concerns about supply chains and the availability of high-strength steels, reluctance to change equipment designs and specifications for welding, or misconceptions about lightweighting’s effect on the structural integrity of equipment.
Most often, the base cost of high-strength steel is the main reason manufacturers shy away from lightweighting. This material is more expensive than other steels; however, lightweighting can yield significant per-part cost reduction, leading to greater annual savings and offsetting the cost associated with redesign.
SAVINGS ADD UP
Advanced high-strength grades such as ASTM A1011/A1018, UHSS grade 100 and ASTM A656 grade 100 have been around for decades and have been widely accepted for lightweighting. They are also excellent options for improving profitability through the production of parts that are thinner and weigh less. That is largely because the base price of traditional hot-rolled steel has increased and remained high, so a modest price increase per unit weight for advanced high-strength steels will still yield cost savings.
To illustrate how manufacturers can gain profitability through lightweighting, consider the cost of both hot-rolled steel and advanced grades of steel. As of late August, the base price of hot-rolled steel was $43 per hundredweight (cwt). The grade extras for this analysis will be 50 cents cwt for grade 50 and $8.50 cwt for grade 100.
The formula for thickness reduction is: New Thickness = Current Thickness *sqrt (current yield strength/new yield strength). Review the following example of a part being lightweighted and the cost savings it provides.
• Current part thickness = ½ inch
• Current steel yield strength = 50 ksi
• New thickness with high-strength steel = 0.50 inch X sqrt (50 ksi/100 ksi) = 0.353 inch
• New yield strength with high-strength steel = 100 ksi
• Weight reduction = (0.50 inch-0.353 inch)/0.50 = 0.294 or 29 percent reduction in the part weight
To determine the part cost reduction, consider a manufacturer that is currently using a ½- inch by 60-inch by 120-inch plate of Grade 50 steel. The plate weighs approximately 1,020 pounds. If the design engineer reconfigures the component to use Grade 100, the new plate is 0.353 inch by 60 inches by 120 inches and weighs only 720 pounds.
The cost of each 1,020-pound grade 50 plate is $443.70, while the cost of the grade 100 plate is $370.80. Paying a higher price per pound for Grade 100 but buying much thinner steel saves the manufacturer 16.4 percent.
The weight reduction is large enough that freight savings will also be positively impacted. The thinner and lighter plate will also reduce the freight cost by 29 percent. These cost savings are just one example of what manufacturers can expect when transitioning to higher strength steels. And given that lightweighting can be applied to multiple parts within a manufacturing facility, that cost savings can be compounded, leading to a better bottom line.
In addition to profitability, lightweighting provides other advantages for equipment, including increased payload and lift capacity, improved fuel efficiency, better performance, longer equipment life and reduced carbon footprint.
Profitability can start small. It’s a good idea to consult with a metallurgist who can discuss design considerations for a specific part, help choose one part to analyze, both from a design and cost perspective, and provide details to put the part from paper into production.
LOOKING AHEAD
The consolidation in steel mill ownership has brought pricing discipline to the market. Trade policies appear to be reinforcing elevated base prices. If the base price gets below $25.50 cwt, Grade 100 will no longer offer savings. It is very unlikely the base price for hot strip mill coils will ever get down to a base price of $25.50. If the base price rises above $43 cwt, the savings will increase.
Steel Warehouse, 800/348-2529, steelwarehouse.com
With over 30 years of experience, Mick Gugel is a metallurgist who has dedicated his career to supporting steel manufacturers. He possesses a deep understanding of the capabilities of flat-rolled steel producers and matching their strengths to Steel Warehouse’s customer needs. Allison Lucak has been a metallurgist with Steel Warehouse for over 12 years. She holds a degree in materials science and engineering and is a licensed professional engineer in metallurgy and materials.
